The Bombers did discuss how a contract with the Canadian running back would be structured Monday morning, con-firmed assistant GM Ross Hodgkinson, who has been handling the negotiations for Winnipeg. But nothing had been finalized as early Monday evening.

"He texted me (Monday) morning and said he would get back to me but I haven't heard from him yet," Hodgkinson said.

"Am I hoping to get him signed soon? Sure. But my understanding is he's talking to other teams. The ideal situation would be to get him in here (Tuesday) and be practising with us Wednesday."

Hodgkinson has been in discussions with the former firstround draft pick for more than a week but Lumsden, who has played for both Edmonton and Hamilton in the past, admitted in his Twitter account (JesseLumsden28) that he has indeed been talking to others.

"I have not signed anywhere yet. Over the last 72 hours I have been in contact with a few teams," he tweeted.

Hodgkinson said previously that the Bombers would not get into a bidding war over Lumsden.

Lumsden, 28, has not played since suffering a shoulder injury in the first game of the 2009 season and would have to pass a physical and prove to be in game shape before he could suit up.

SHUT UP: The gotiations with Lumsden come just after Bomber RB Fred Reid enjoyed his best rushing day of the season, romping for 148 yards on 17 carries against Saskatchewan. But Lumsden could be used to spell off Reid, who said he had fresh legs after missing two or three practices with the flu last week. Lumsden could also line up in the same backfield as Reid, who just moved into third place in CFL rushing.

Reid, meanwhile, was happy to be able to shut Saskatchewan linebacker Barrin Simpson up.

"I didn't want him to get to me two weeks in a row because we talk a lot on the phone," he said. "We're good friends and I have to hear it from him and I don't want to hear it from him."

LOWERING BOOM: There were many others but the most devastating strike of the game came when LB Marcellus Bowman lowered the boom on Saskatchewan FB Chris Szarka, forcing him to fumble and leaving him crumpled on the turf for an extended period.

"It felt great," Bowman said. "I just ran as fast as I could and sacrificed my body. It's as simple as that."

Did it hurt?

"That one didn't hurt me," he said. "It was euphoria. That felt good until they called the play back (due to a penalty to DE Odell Willis)."

SAFETY SAVE: The Bombers had a third down at their own 10 but head coach Paul LaPolice chose to have punter Mike Renaud kick it out of his own endzone into a strong wind in the third quarter.

"When we kicked off, we weren't kicking very well into the wind at all," LaPolice explained. "If we concede, we concede points right away. Plus, we back up to the 25 to kick the ball, so they may get the ball at the 50 yard-line anyway and put themselves into a position for a long field. And, for as well as our defence was playing, I really felt that Mike would be able to boom one as long as he could and not give them easy points because they hadn't moved the ball offensively. Unfortunately, that's probably his worst kick of the game (23 yards)."

That and a no-yards penalty gave the Riders the ball at the Winnipeg 28.

"Our defence did a good job and it looked like a good thing because we held them to one point on that drive (missed field goal)," LaPolice said. "On another day, I may have decided not to punt it out because of the factors in the game."

SAD NOTE: Former Bomber OL Val Belcher reportedly passed away while waiting for a heart transplant in an Ottawa hospital. He was 57. Belcher played for both Ottawa and the Bombers, helping them win the 1984 Grey Cup. He is survived by a partner and three children.